QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Guánica, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Guánica was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south of Guánica, PR, at 9:03 am AST on 24 April 2023 (13:03 UTC), 8.2 km deep.

USGS: 2 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico

30 km (19 mi) W of Ponce, PR

9:03 am AST, Apr 24, 2023 · · 8.2 km deep · released about 750 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 2 kmGuayanilla Municipio 13 kmLajas Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmYauco Municipio 16 kmPeñuelas Municipio 21 kmSan Germán Municipio 23 kmMaricao Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 30 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:03 am AST on 24 April 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
8.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 2 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1297 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Yauco 11 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 15 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 16 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 21 km, intensity II · San Germán 21 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 25 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 30 km, intensity II · Ponce 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 750 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 20,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 750 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 160,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 17.9465, -66.9058. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.1 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 2 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 2 km NE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 5 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.6 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 3 km ENE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.2 3 km NNW of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.6 4 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.